PMHC is a joint venture of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) with Repower Energy Development Corp. (REDC), a subsidiary of Pure Energy Holdings Corp.

The Lalawinan hydropower plant is the second project under the partnership, PMHC chairman Alfredo Panlilio said in a statement on Wednesday.

The first partnership project is the Pulanai mini hydropower plant in Bukidnon, which had its groundbreaking last December.

The Lalawinan plant will connect to the transmission infrastructure of REDC’s Upper Labayat 3-MW mini-hydro power project via a 10.5-kilometer, 69-kilovolt (kV) line. It will have two generating units, and the total annual power generation will be over 16-gigawatthours (GWh) from this renewable energy source.

The project cost is P700 million and it is expected to generate over 200 jobs during construction, mostly hired from the local community.

The project will avail of the run-of-river hydropower feed-in-tariff (FiT) rate of 5.90 per kilowatt hour. ROR hydropower is the cheapest renewable energy resource being charged under FiT.

“We reiterate our earlier pronouncement that our investments in the various run-of-river mini hydro projects are a manifestation of our unwavering commitment to support the development of the renewable energy sector. It is our hope that these various initiatives will contribute in providing a stable, clean and reliable energy source,” Panlilio added.

World Wide Fund recently signed a partnership with Pure Energy to identify key areas for potential run-of-river hydropower development. A Seize the Flow campaign was also recently launched by the parties to promote awareness and preservation of the watersheds.

“We are committed to help save our last remaining Sierra Madre rainforest and wildlife habitat here in Quezon, which is our humble way of participating in the war on climate change,” Tiu added.

The Lalawinan plant is Meralco’s first foray in run-of-river hydropower in Luzon, while for Pure Energy’s hydropower arm, REDC, this is its third hydropower groundbreaking this year.

Aside from Lalawinan, REDC is targeting to break ground on two more hydropower projects this year, and another 15 hydropower projects in the next three years.

Meanwhile, Pure Energy plans to venture into the intermittent solar energy for a balanced portfolio of renewable energy projects.